There are many legends surrounding the life of Saint Barbara.

She is said to have lived either in Heliopolis (now Baalbek) either in Turkey (depending on the legend) in the 3rd century after Christ.

She secretly converted to Christianism and built a 3rd window in the tower where her father locked her up when he was away, to symbolize the Divine Trinity.

When he came back from his travels, her pagan father wanted to marry her to a rich suitor. She refused because she wanted to stay true to her new religion. When her father discovered that she became a Christian, he got enraged and decided to kill her.

She managed to escape and hid in a wheat field (hence the am7iye, or cooked wheat, that we eat that day). But her father found her and had her tortured then decapitated.

Photo by MJ Daoud

In Lebanon and the Levant, we celebrate Saint Barbara’s day  on December 4th. Kids dress up the night before and ask for candies and sweets from neighbours,  singing “Hechlé Barbara” .

 

 

Why do we wear masks that day?

The reasons vary depending on the legends: some say that Saint Barbara had to smear her face with soot to run away from her father; other legends state that the masks are a symbol of the soldiers who dragged Saint Barbara in the streets before killing her; and others say that she asked all the young people in her village to dress up so that she could blend in and run away.

 

 

Text and pic: Rachel Notteau  with Labneh&Facts

Sources : Père Elia Bechara ,  Saint-Elie monastery in Antélias;  Article « Sainte-Barbe, une icône fédératrice pour les travaux souterrains », François Martin et Alain Guillaume